Fellow piano teachers, question for you about designing a method

[Storm Bay]

This is probably crazy, but I want to write a piano method, even if it's just to use in my own teaching. The reasons for this are that I love one method but want to address the weaknesses I see in it and to put more of the theory & technical work in so that parents can buy one book, or at least if they only want to buy one book I can get more done.

 

Could you tell me what you find missing from methods that you use that you'd like to see added to one book? Obviously, it would be a very large book if I included all you need to teach well (eg all the sight reading for a student with a good ear who memorizes rather than really learns to read music, etc). I'm not trying to do it all, and if I do this, would still plan to add A Dozen a Day later, for eg, and I'm only thinking of the levels up to but not including elementary.

 

I have used Bastien, Alfred's, Noona & John Thompson (usually if it was already there, but when I first started new) as well as a others (can't think of the names, but usually the family already had them) and even though there are things about them that are good, am not happy with how any of them teach music reading even though I used them successfully with most students (except those that struggled to read music in general.) My favourite book for that is not popular but what I had to use when I taught in an extracurricular music programme in Canada, which is Music Pathways http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/series/Music-Pathways/1619 which has a great method of teaching reading (IMO, of course, but I've seen it work well) and covers everything including. The problem with it is that it takes too long to introduce enough hands together work. It even has "you the composer" assignments where students apply what they're learning in a piece they compose (eg when they learn a new interval, they compose a piece using it).

 

Also, if you have music writing software for a PC, what is it and is it good?

Edited March 5, 2011 by Karin

[Storm Bay]

Anyone?

[ElizabethB]

Have you looked at the Music Tree series?

 

I am using them after a recommendation from someone here.

 

You can look inside on Amazon:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Music-Tree-Students-Book-Summy/dp/0874876885/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300255765&sr=8-1

 

It also has tips for composing your own pieces based on things that have been taught. The progression is very nice. My daughter had 2 different teachers, and I didn't like things from each of them, although each had a few good things I liked. Anyway, after so many moves and not finding a teacher I liked that much, I'm teaching her myself with these books and it is going very well. I just added my son last week, it's an easier start for him than for my daughter, and he is less musically inclined!

Edited March 16, 2011 by ElizabethB

[Sara in AZ]

Wow, that would be quite an undertaking! I applaud your ambitions. Honestly, before starting out on my own I would check out a few more methods. There are sooooooo many out there now. The Music Tree series that was suggested popularized the intervalic approach and it works very well. (I'm using it with my 6 year old.) Many more modern methods are based off of it....Faber Piano Adventures (I've used this for years) and Celebrate Piano are pretty solid. There are so many more...Piano Town is recently out and I've read good things about it, Hal Leonard, Robert Pace is an older method based on reading in all keys right off. I know there are more. Many newer methods really make an effort to incorporate sightreading, improvisation, theory, technic, etc. into a complete package. The Music Tree and Celebrate Piano (at the beginner level) only use two books. But of course you can always supplement with the plethora of supplementary material out there. I've always found the basic methods I've used to be fairly comprehensive, but I do branch out and supplement with other things from time to time.

 

Let us know what you come up with!

[Hedgehog]

On the subject of software, I've used a program called Sibelius which is pretty good.

[Storm Bay]

Thanks! I thought that this thread was lost for good.:001_smile:

 

I've used a number of methods, and there are some I do like, don't get me wrong, but just not enough at the first book stage. I love Noona for musicality, and their projects book is great. I like Discoveries for learning to read music by intervals, etc, but it stays boring for far too long. I like some things about Faber Piano Adventures, etc. I am so happy to have these suggestions of things to look into:D. I'm especially interested in the one where you read in all keys right off. too.

 

I'm going to look at the three names here I don't know (Celebrate Piano, Music Tree and Piano Town.) I've borrowed a couple I've used before from a friend and have ordered a few I used to use from Amazon (now I'll order a few more--I can always resell them later.) If I find one I like enough, I'll try it.

 

What I've been thinking of since posting this thread a while back is that I may just need to write something to supplement one other book for older beginners, and then write something for younger beginners. What I find is that nothing works best for all of them, so I may put a method in a binder for the student where I can add extra where needed (eg a dc with a good ear who memorizes might need more reading work, some need more technic/technique, etc). It's hard to haul all these things around with me, and at the moment I'm going to the students' houses. I have my flashcards, ear training book (easier than just making things up all the time), some sightreading materials, a couple of things I lend, pencils, etc,e tc.

 

At any rate, I'm one of those people who is always happier when I have a large, possibly undoable, project I can work on, and right now this is it.

 

Thanks for the tip on Sibelius. Now I'm torn, since I finally heard back from an old friend who is a professional composer who uses Finale. I read somewhere that these are the best two.

 

Wow, that would be quite an undertaking! I applaud your ambitions. Honestly, before starting out on my own I would check out a few more methods. There are sooooooo many out there now. The Music Tree series that was suggested popularized the intervalic approach and it works very well. (I'm using it with my 6 year old.) Many more modern methods are based off of it....Faber Piano Adventures (I've used this for years) and Celebrate Piano are pretty solid. There are so many more...Piano Town is recently out and I've read good things about it, Hal Leonard, Robert Pace is an older method based on reading in all keys right off. I know there are more. Many newer methods really make an effort to incorporate sightreading, improvisation, theory, technic, etc. into a complete package. The Music Tree and Celebrate Piano (at the beginner level) only use two books. But of course you can always supplement with the plethora of supplementary material out there. I've always found the basic methods I've used to be fairly comprehensive, but I do branch out and supplement with other things from time to time.

 

Let us know what you come up with!

[ElizabethB]

I used a version of Finale for trumpet music for a while and was very happy with it. It transposes very well, which was a feature I needed, I cannot transpose well if the music is too fast, and we often played things in different keys than the original. I also used it to write out some of the descants I developed for pieces, I play better with music than by ear.

 

While I generally just used treble clef, sometimes I needed the bass clef for reference and it did that well, too.

[Storm Bay]

I used a version of Finale for trumpet music for a while and was very happy with it. It transposes very well, which was a feature I needed, I cannot transpose well if the music is too fast, and we often played things in different keys than the original. I also used it to write out some of the descants I developed for pieces, I play better with music than by ear.

 

While I generally just used treble clef, sometimes I needed the bass clef for reference and it did that well, too.

 

Thanks. :001_smile:

[Storm Bay]

Well, I am now the owner of quite a few beginner piano methods!!!

 

I still am going to work on a method for those who request Christian only music, and on some supplemental material, but now my next quest is to find which method is better for which type of learner. I'm using the Robert Pace one with my dd; she's technically too old and I've ordered her a method for teens, but like the fact that it teaches all of the key signatures, does keyboard transposition, etc. I did supplement for teaching her to read intervals, and am using something else with her already as I wait for the other book.

 

The Celebration one has many great things (and it's Canadian, eh?) but I can see that I'd want to supplement it.

 

My big beef with all of the ones that start off the staff is the RH and LH distinction, and I would prefer something that used different colours for the staffs. In fact, I'm going to be colouring those for one of my students who is 11 and still having a lot of trouble with this. Of course, she has a great ear and memorizes things rather than reads them. Music Tree has a great little theory book for young beginners, but I didn't love the method book.

 

There just isn't one way dc learn.

 

My question for Sara is, do you choose different methods for different styles of learners? This is what I'm moving into, and I'm wondering what you've seen using these methods.

 

What I really want is a combo of Robert Pace & Music Pathways sprinkled with some other things. I've learned a lot reviewing these methods, and that alone has been well worth it.